CAVE ENCOUNTER - A SasuSaku FanFic (One Shot)
by AriannJS
Summary: For a moment, he thought of simply vacating the place so he wouldn't make himself noticed, but something inside him made him want to stay, even though he was aware that he might end up regretting that he let himself be distracted. There was only one pink-haired woman that he knew, and the white circle outline on her back validated his first thought. "Sakura."


It was one of those days wherein he wanted to spend the night somewhere else by himself.

Sure, it was beneficial for him that he got to recruit men and a woman to join him in fulfilling what had been his lifelong mission ever since that night he saw his parents' lifeless bodies, but there were days that he just needed solace with just himself. Thankfully, Suigetsu and Jugo would understand it whenever he'd decide to be solitary for a night or two for whatever the team's grind would be was his call anyway. But Karin? She was, in many ways, one of the reasons he wanted all the more to be left alone most of the time.

Sasuke left the other three members of Team Hebi to fend for themselves while he sought for a place to rest a few kilometers away from them. Frustration was getting the best of him for they still couldn't find any trace as to where Itachi could be. It wasn't as if he's losing time. Heck, he could search for him all his life just so he could finally finish him off. However, it already got to a point wherein he got sick of merely going nowhere. Plus, there's nothing really amusing with being around Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin if they're not able to progress in accomplishing their task.

Moments later, he found a cave past the trees he had been leaping from. He was sure that they passed by this place earlier but the cave wasn't too noticeable, which was what he wanted since he wasn't in the mood to be involved with any unnecessary combats for the night nor to be found by the other three.

With his Sharingan, he ventured through the dark cavern to seek a space to settle in, only to be taken aback when he realized that a campfire was set at the farthest part of the cave and that he wasn't alone.

He tensed at the sight of a pink-haired woman sitting by the fire with her back on him. For a moment, he thought of simply vacating the place so he wouldn't make himself noticed, but something inside him made him want to stay, even though he was aware that he might end up regretting that he had let himself be distracted.

There was only one pink-haired woman that he knew, and the white circle outline on her back validated his first thought. "Sakura."

The woman stood up in shock, her body rigid as she took in the voice that was all too familiar for her. She thought for a fraction of a second that maybe she was just hallucinating because of how exhausted she was after the long day. Besides, it wasn't new for her to be dreaming about him. But the moment she turned to where the voice came from, her memory was right after all. "Sasuke...kun."

Sakura's heart started racing at the fact that he's was indeed in front of her – the one whom her heart beats for since they were younger, yet chose to leave her behind; the one Naruto and the others were searching for through a retrieval mission, yet they never found.

His hair was the same but a little longer. And his outfit was far from anything anyone in the Leaf would wear. The genin Sasuke that she knew was nowhere in sight and the man in front of her seemed to have drastically changed from the inside out for he looked more mature than the last time she saw him.

His well-toned physique and the sword on the side of his waist gave her the idea that he has gotten a lot stronger than before too. It was something he has always wanted to happen so she was glad that he got to achieve it. And because of that, she somehow hoped that this time, he could finally return to the Leaf with her.

Sasuke observed her with austereness. He found it odd how something about her screamed progress and strength, contrary to the fragility of the annoying girl that used to follow him around. With dull eyes and clenched jaw, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"I...I was out for a solo mission."

"Solo mission?" He arched an eyebrow at her. Part of him wanted to scoff skeptically, yet another part wanted to smirk with pride at the fact that she was given a mission without anyone having to protect her – a proof that she must've progressed well with her life while he was away. Despite him being a tad bit pleased on the inside, he reminded himself that he couldn't be complacent around someone whom he knew could stand on his way. Even if it's her.

"Yes." Instinctively, she took steps forward to him, almost about to reach out to him as her eyes focused on those onyx orbs that she terribly missed.

However, Sasuke swiftly appeared behind her and she heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed that made a shiver run down her spine. "Never let your guard down in front of an enemy." His voice was threatening, leaving no trace of the way her former teammate used to talk with her. "Why weren't you preparing to attack at all?"

It broke her heart that the man behind her wasn't the same Sasuke that she knew. For a second, she thought he would knock her out again just like how he left her on that last time they met near the gates of Konoha.

When it didn't happen, she replied, "Because...it's you, Sasuke-kun. You're not an enemy to me."

"For all I know, the moment I defected the village, I'm already a rogue shinobi." Now appearing in front of her, he pushed her rather harshly on a wall and then pressed his hands against it on either side of her face, struggling internally for a reason he couldn't put a name on.

Tears started forming in her eyes as she stared back at her former teammate. She just realized how all the more painful it was to hear from the man she loves the admission of opposing the village he grew up in. "W-well...I know you have your own reasons. But it doesn't mean you can't go back and you'll forever be a rogue nin."

There was a spark in her eyes that made Sasuke consider that Sakura somehow understood him at a certain level.

But it wasn't her who was there to personally witness his parents surrounded by their own blood. It wasn't her who was mentally tormented with a myriad of scenarios that happened on that atrocious day. And it wasn't her who was challenged to harbor hatred day by day just so he could fulfill a purpose that he didn't even desire to have. Hence, she would never completely understand.

He clenched his jaw as he thought of a rebuttal to the girl that should have forgotten him – hated him, even – a long time ago, only to be stupefied with her immediate follow up.

"I still trust you, Sasuke-kun. You...you already know how I feel for you. It's not like it could easily change. Please...it's not too late for you to come home." Her last words became almost inaudible as her hands unconsciously made their way on Sasuke's chest, causing Sasuke to flinch with her touch.

Sasuke seemed to have lost all coherence in his brain while his eyes were fixed intently on two viridian pools. "You're still so annoying," he then hissed, and before Sakura could even open her mouth for a reply, his lips suddenly crashed onto hers.

He hates it.

He hates it that it hurt for him to leave her on that bench years ago.

He hates it that he realized just now how he had been craving to see her again.

He hates it that the moment she spoke about her feelings for him even after all this time, it made his heart feel a palpable frenzy that he couldn't contain.

And even though he had fought so hard to sever all the bonds he had before, especially with her, he hates it that he couldn't fight even harder to stop himself from entertaining the submerged joy of being with her right now.

Sakura was frozen on the spot with the sudden action. She might have imagined something like this between them when they were younger, but this was totally different and unexpected. His kiss was ferocious, filled with an unexplainable desperate need. It's like a commemoration of their years of being apart and the only way to fill the gaps of each other's absence was to seal them with this kiss. Soon enough, she started responding and kissing back, her arms snaking around his neck and her fingers landing on the soft spikes of his raven hair.

Sasuke's arms later wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer, not breaking the kiss as if his life depended on it, on her. He knew that this could possibly be the last time that he'll be able to see her, a bonus epilogue to what he used to believe that when he left her sleeping on that bench years ago, they wouldn't cross paths at all anymore.

At least he had this one more chance, this was a rare opportunity he wouldn't deny he was grateful to have. And if ever they would even see each other again, he was sure she wouldn't – no, she shouldn't – see him in the same way anymore after all that he's become and was still becoming.

Maybe this would be the last time that she'll see him with the same compassion as before; hence, he wanted to treasure the way her lips were moving in sync with his before he lets her go.

However, with the danger of becoming all too comfortable with her presence and being completely distracted from his goals, he decided to pull away, breathless as they continued to hold each other, with their foreheads touching and their breaths racing at an uneven pace. Sasuke wasn't used to such a close proximity, but with Sakura, it didn't matter. He scanned her face as if memorizing every feature that he would keep etched in his mind while he was away.

And then, he shut his eyes and muttered "I'm sorry" just above a whisper before swiftly disappearing with a jutsu that Sakura wasn't aware of.

It felt as if her heart dropped at the sudden emptiness of the space in front of her. Tears replaced those few moments of indescribable bliss as her hand hovered on her lips.

Was he sorry because of his sudden action, or because of turning away from everything and everyone who loves him especially her? She was convinced it was more of the latter.

During their short reunion, she was quite sure that he was struggling about something in one way or another. And the fact that he didn't just simply turn away from her like what he did on that one night when they were 13 gave her a tinge of hope that Sasuke could still be not too far from saving, and that probably, there's a little space in his heart reserved for her.

He shouldn't have decided to kiss her if that's not the case, right?

Yet, as she cried herself to sleep in the cave, she couldn't subdue the searing pang in her chest due to the reality that he still chose to leave again.

The next morning, Sakura ventured back to the Leaf village without letting anyone know about the encounter she had with the missing shinobi. But this time, whenever she thinks of him, she would always remember the warmth of his lips on hers.

o - o - o

© October 2018 AriannJS


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